I do not own Zootopia, that belongs to Disney. This a fan work made solely for the sake of amusement.

The Lionhearts

Chapter Three: Big

By: Gabriel LaVedier

The weather of Tundratown could be brutal and unforgiving, with regular blizzards on some days and harsh wind on others, sleet and icy fog filling in at other times. But due to the need to keep the district functioning those things were very thoughtfully scheduled and carefully controlled by the Zootopia Department of Weather and Climate. That meant that, however harsh and punishing the weather could be, the weather forecasts in the district were some of the most accurate and precise in the city, letting the citizens know when the best time to do anything was. Because of the precise schedules there was specialized shopping days for most, unless mammals wanted to use the subterranean system, which worked well enough but most who lived there much preferred the surface streets.

One of those who preferred walking on the surface was Nadiya Erminova, city councilor for Tundratown. The ermine woman was in her winter coat, as she usually was. The artificial environment of Tundratown tricked her gene response to leave her a majority of the time in her white variant, the black tip on her tail standing out strongly. She was only lightly bundled up, wearing elevated waterproof boots in lilac, a long, heavy sarafan embroidered with floral motifs over an equally heavy lilac-colored cotton flannel dress and a pale peach cotton scarf wound around her relatively long neck. On her head she wore a modestly tall pale green kokoshnik, the front embroidered with flowers and medicinal herbs. Her hands were stuffed in a muff made of flannel and yarn, brushed and puffed to look like a mossy log.

She walked along a swept, snowy street off the main street, passing by several smaller shops that she looked into as she passed. Clothing shops, a book store, a bakery and a music shop, from which faintly emerged the plinking strings of an idly strummed balalaika. The sound put a smile on her face and set her body to lightly swaying as she went along. A smile graced her features and she whistled a familiar tune.

As she approached a gap between the large buildings two hefty figures stepped out from the narrow space. They were two tall polar bears, in matching blue track suits. One of them wore a collection of tacky gold chains while the other had several rings. "Dobryy vecher, Miss Erminova," the chain-wearing bear said with a cold smile.

"You have been very... indelicate. You asked too many questions and said too many things. A bad, bad thing for those who are doing... business," the one with the rings added.

"I will say what must be said, and no lowly thug will stop me," Nadiya hissed, tail whipping behind her.

"You think you're so good because you have money? You think your inherited money is so clean and pure?" The chain-wearing bear asked.

"Yes!" Nadiya chittered, hopping on her booted paws, just a few small leaps. "My family money is clean, looked at by five accountants and three historians! There is no taint of scandal or criminality. Now leave me alone. I won't tolerate the mess being made of my district and will do all I can to end it."

"That is unfortunate. We insist you reconsider your position. Our employer is very highly motivated in insisting you back off. It's not negotiable."

Nadiya leaped repeatedly, forward and back, side-to-side, twisting and thrashing around, her kokoshnik waving around wildly on her head. "I'm not afraid of you! I may be a councilor but I'm still a woozle! Leave me alone, you money-hungry thugs! I won't bow to that creep you follow! I know who it is! I kept his name hidden, but he needs to respect that! If he won't, I'll stop holding back!"

"You shouldn't have admitted it," the ring-wearing bear sighed. "If we didn't know, we could have settled on a painful threat. Do svidanya, Miss Erminova..."

The two bears loomed, lips pulled back to show off the drool dripping from their fangs, their fingers clawed to emphasize their talons. Even so, Nadiya continued her weasel war-dance, chittering, squeaking and gnashing her needle-like teeth. Her actions grew louder, boots hammering the ground, squeaks echoing along the empty street.

The chain bear lifted his hand a short distance, his intimidating face twisting from terrible to confused as he felt something against his neck. He hissed softly as something penetrated the thick scruff of his neck, something sharp jamming deep into his loose flesh.

"They are not made to kill," Gerhilde Seedsworth snarled, low and dangerous. "They do not carry the power to end you. But I have stabbed into your hideous blubber. I have found a particular point. One pull und it will not break your back but your convulsions will make you wish it had snapped cleanly."

While the threatened bear slowly raised his hands, the other turned and snorted. "You think I care about him. Shock him all you want. I'll tear your head off befo-" His words halted when he noticed the track of a laser move along his compatriot and over to his body. Looking up he caught sight of Steiner Howlmeyer training a very large and intimidating tranq rifle at his chest.

"They are less lethal, these things we have. Less. Lethal. I warned the monster Vesper, maybe I do not only dart once. Maybe you do not wake up. Meine Schwester is not for you to threaten. You leave Stadtrat Erminova, run back to your omega, tucked, showing your fat bellies. You go, now. We offer this once, und no more."

Both of the bears lifted their hands and slowly started walking back to the gap between buildings, Gerhilde following along until they arrived. She pulled the taser prongs out of the bear's nape and quickly sprinted back to her brother, who swept the tranq rifle between the two. "This isn't over," the chain bear grunted. "At least we were open. You're going to learn what can happen to you..."

Nadiya slowed her actions, returning to calmly standing, looking proud between the two wolves. "I had been mild, thinking it would buy me safety. The unspoken truce is broken. He's going down. Remember what we did to Vesper Bellwether? Remember what we did in Happytown? Tell him it's all over."

"Just you beware!" The ring-wearing bear snapped, petulantly turning with exaggerated casualness when the rifle trailed over to him.

The three figures stood still, watching the bears retreat. Only when they were out of sight and did not return for a time did they loosen up, Nadiya sighing and slumping a little. "I haven't done a war-dance in years. I should have stretched first..."

"It was most entertaining, Stadtrat Erminova," Gerhilde said with a small laugh.

"It was good of you to be here with me. I had an inkling that our talk about the situation with the unions would bring a response, especially with Commissioner Bogo asking all those questions," Nadiya said.

Steiner gently patted Nadiya on the shoulder while chuckling. "Natürlich, Stadtrat. We are Freunde, Familie. You ask, all meine pack alphas are here. Mein Schwager speaks well of all of you, our Freund the Bürgermeister un his Ehefrau are close as kin. All of you we must protect. Beim Mond schwöre ich."

"It's time to go home. They swirled the tea, and now I've read the leaves. I have to contact Mayor Lionheart for an emergency meeting. The situation has peaked. Now we start the fight."

o o o

The mood in the city council chamber was unusually grim, approaching the dour pall that had been spread during the Nighthowler incident. The City Council had been hastily assembled, the chamber closed, and the only extraneous figure in there was Commissioner Bogo, seated at the table before the podia, reviewing papers and adjusting his spectacles.

"First off, Miss Erminova... Nadiya, I'm so sorry to hear about what inspired this meeting, and am glad you're still safe," Leodore rumbled.

"I was never in any real danger. Mrs. Seedsworth and her brother were close by all the time," Nadiya replied.

"My dear Gerhilde told me all about it. These savages have done violence against the free market and now they've brought their wickedness against this council, the board of this city. They're going to pay, and dearly," Cecil said with a dark and rumbling tone.

"It was always going to be this way," Leodore said, flipping through several papers in a manilla folder. "Dawn gave me a lot of information that she had gathered from Commissioner Bogo, and melded it together with her own information and things she managed to dig up."

"I picked up too many stories just subtle enough to be noticed by someone less inclined to notice," Bogo snorted, checking on his own notes. "I'll give them this, they're too clever for my liking. They know how much is just enough to be a good bribe but not look suspicious on a tax return. It won't be as easy tracking them by the money. There's no clean money trail and fake charities. It's all cash or nice apartment rates."

"Good management can make anything happen," Cecil flatly stated. "Good management is sadly amoral, and just works, for good or ill. A proper manager can make a company a success, or make a conspiracy run like a well-oiled machine. Desolation take him, but Vesper Bellwether was a seasoned mover. His arrogance and our fine Assistant Mayor moved properly to defeat him."

"His skills must be good, he has things well sewn-up," Nadiya said. "All I know is what I've heard from those who are not willing to let things happen. Sadly, some of them have vanished and I can only guess what became of them. All I know is he's a businessmammal, Corleone Big. He seems to have taken over from others, as he now runs rather improbable things including a large club formerly exclusively owned by what I understand had been a larger threat, Anatoly Koslov."

"These economic parasites fancy themselves some strange combination of military strategist and legitimate businessmammal. Spoor, nothing but filthy spoor," Cecil practically spat. "They're no better than the street corner dealers in catnip and locoweed, just giving themselves an air of superiority and alleged legitimacy. Gangsters are gangsters, and these are the worse of all. They parasitize the healthy body of union labor into a grotesque mockery, using them as muscle against a growing industry enriching their location, all for the selfish gluttony of this... this Mr. Big!"

"I need to emphasize, this is a very big issue for all my constituents," Arthur Pteropus squeaked. "All my voting, vocal, politically active constituents who work in the industry or are connected to the infrastructure that makes it run."

"We're all elected, Mr. Pteropus, try to remain calm," Cecil blandly chittered. "We had vandalism and acts of intimidation in the Macrocosm area of my district during the Nighthowler incident, but cool heads and thoughtful consideration always prevail and keep you level."

"It helps when you have a giant girlfriend," Arthur grumbled. "I have a lot of stress from this whole situation. And I can't even go get a massage in Tundratown anymore. They have the best parlors to work out the stress."

"You'll find Sahara Square a bit... less intimidating," Tiziri said with a soft chuckle. "You'll have to stay at the casino but at least there are no polar bears waiting in dark alleys."

"Oh just bow to the advertising pressures in the local rags and go to Vineland. According to the trade figures the area has seen an uptick in economic growth in the service sector," Cecil huffed.

"Tanukitown..." Arthur mused.

"Not that you would know," Matilda Macadam teased.

"I have an incredibly beautiful lupine wife with huge, soft paws. Why pay for an inferior activity?" Cecil said, with a sniff of pride.

"I believe we've drifted from the point," Bogo grunted. "No matter how much stress this puts on you, the real problem is how it hurts the mammals of both the Nocturnal District and Tundratown."

"Yes, and that's the true tragedy of this," Mr. Tatu said. "We have a small river fish industry that has stayed small and stagnant for reasons we all pretend are unknown. A few beaten fisherfolk, one strange disappearance, a few mammals managing to have very nice things despite a generally sluggish economy..."

Bogo grunted. "And why was this never reported? This is a travesty."

Mr. Tatu was silent for a long while, looking down at the desk in front of him. "It... it was... it was all predators. Every one, predators. And the police didn't think it was an important matter. I knew, and I was too much of a coward. My brother should despise me. One of my sister-in-law's brothers was one of the beaten. He still can't swim with proper speed and dexterity. Coward..."

Bogo looked down, jaw tightening. "It was... There's no excuse! There's no excuse. This is why it's vital we strike. We strike them hard, we strike them fast and we hit them until they're nothing by a greasy smear to be wiped away."

"Juan... I wish you had said something. This kind of economic thuggery is something I'll fight with you!" Cecil said firmly, looking aside at Mr. Tatu.

"Amigo, it's my burden," Juan said softly. "I've reconciled with Carlos and Clotilde. I've been waiting for a chance to finally atone. I've had anathema pronounced over me by my own will. Now I can perform my penance, stopping this Mr. Big."

"We're all one on this," Leodore said. "It's... somewhat uncomfortable to say but we have a certain advantage. We all have our own money and status. The only way we can do civic work like this. Well, mostly. I know you put in some work in your own districts but..."

"Don't be coy, Lionheart. I make no bones about my wealth," Cecil said. "I want every mammal to be so fortunate. I still do trading and investment, my wife works for very important mammals, my brother-in-law owns the company that works for very important mammals. I'm certainly not going to fall to base temptations. And I know none of you will either."

"I make more than enough for my purposes. I always have. And more now that I'm Commissioner. Even if I didn't, this city means more than a few bucks," Bogo asserted.

"He won't try to destroy us with money. From what his bears said, he'll come at me in a way that I can't oppose. I know what that means. Smear campaigns. Lies, or facts that are inconvenient or embarrassing. You know that it's not hard to do, even with lies that can be proved are lies," Nadiya sighed.

"And they might work on not only us, but our family and friends," Tiziri added.

"I can't have my family dragged into this, my daughter just started ZU!" Arthur wailed.

"Calm down, Arthur!" Cecil squeaked. "We all have concerns. I have three young daughters, and I recognize that's a tempting target for savages like this Big fellow. But we need strong resolve now."

"We have a lot of residual goodwill, but we can't bank on it forever," Tiziri noted. "We did everything right in getting rid of Vesper Bellwether and fighting the gangs. We were open, we showed our methods, we did big things to benefit the city. From a psychological perspective we have an ample store of authentic actions that show we can be trusted and relied upon. Because it was done that way we can't have that taken away quickly."

"But they will take it away," Nadiya bluntly asserted.

"No, it can fade through time. Hitting it too hard will strengthen the positivity in the mind of the population," Tiziri countered. "Harsh attacks against something organically held by the population will constitute an attack on them. Letting that residual goodwill fade while we rest will do more harm to us than any attacks they make. Which is why the only thing we can and should do is simply do more, building our status higher and higher, so the chain of good acts continues. That's the only way we can endure."

"If I may..." Bogo interrupted. "We can't just rely on crowd psychology. We need concrete action. We have to hit him, we need to break his power apart."

"We'll have a time of that," Cecil warned. "We showed our resolve, wiped up his competition in another district and demonstrated effective efficiency. If he's half as intelligent an executive as he appears he's divested himself of his riskier divisions, possibly into the hold of rivals or lesser underlings he can sacrifice like a pawn. He can't move into the vacuum yet, so he's focused on this one matter, that seems like a natural fit. He's going to try and ride out anything we do, keeping his force and profits low. But that force has to come out, and we need to finely audit his activities. It's microscope and scalpel time, the more delicately done version of what we did to Vesper and his supporters. I appreciate your words, Commissioner, but your heavy-hoofed action will just bounce off."

"With all due respect, Councilor Seedsworth, you can do all your small things, but my police officers are going to do everything they can. Monitoring the union activities, protecting the fishers in the Nocturnal District, leaning on the figures in Tundratown and especially breaking the back of the corrupt cops he managed to bribe."

"While I appreciate the strong support for my constituents, er... you mean breaking their backs metaphorically, yes, Commissioner?" Arthur asked.

Bogo smiled and just shuffled his papers. "Whatever you tell yourself to sleep peacefully at night."

"Commissioner, I don't want to tell you how to do your job-" Leodore began.

"Then don't, Mr. Mayor," Bogo snorted.

"But I have to mention this one important thing," Leodore sharply stated. "All the police you put on these jobs will be taken away from somewhere. Where, Commissioner Bogo? Meadowlands? Sahara Square? Happytown? Talk about an excellent way of draining public sentiment. They can spin your actions in any number of ways, all bad."

Papers crinkled sharply as Bogo squeezed them together tightly. His teeth ground and his eyes squinted. "Do you have any suggestions, Mayor Lionheart?"

"I think I should defer to Mr. Seedsworth. He's the professional businessmammal. It seems like he has an idea that might be helpful."

"Thank you, Mr. Mayor," Cecil said, with a nod in Leodore's direction. "I agree with you, Commissioner, in that this savage needs to be harshly treated. Broken. Shattered apart to punish him for these crimes against this city and the citizens. Asking about the compromised officers means they know, I'm almost certain. And that means he knows. You think he's defensive now? He's going to get worse. You need to hit him hard, but only when you have the chance. Miss the swing, or bounce off his defenses, we may as well give up and give him the city. When the time is right, destroy him utterly. But only when the time is right."

"And when will the time be right, Mr. Seedsworth?" Bogo asked.

"I don't know about how the police work, but let me give my advice and you can turn that into suggestion that will become policy..."

o o o

"I hope you got things done at the office," Leodore sighed. "Actual political movement beats talking about things without getting to anything real."

Dawn slowly shook her head, settled up against Leodore's side on their big, comfortable couch. He was holding onto Agnes, nearly engulfing her in his enormous, one-armed grip. "It was all policy review, letters, mostly positive ones, and a few more back-and-forth correspondences with Giorgio Swinton. He's keeping me up on the state of Happytown infrastructure. We might need another bond vote to help out. Lots of years of neglect don't get fixed overnight."

"More headaches on headaches," Leodore rumbled, idly tickling at Agnes' stomach. "But you make it all better. Little dear... you make it all worth it..."

"We had a good day at the office, at least. Gisela is quite good about helping out, and she seems to be very good at all the little details of lamb care, including diapers. I think we may be underpaying her..."

"You do that for free," Leodore noted with a deep chuckle.

"That's part of my job. I don't mind. She's my precious little lioness, and I'll do anything that I need to do," Dawn said, stroking Agnes' head softly.

A long, silent period followed, both parents lavishing love onto the cooing, laughing little one. "You know, this has been a lot of stress. I know it's going to get worse before it gets better. While we still have a chance, we should take a few days just for ourselves," Leodore said.

"I... well... can we even do that? Can the Mayor and Assistant Mayor really take a few days off? Just... leave?"

"Taking vacations seems to be almost a pastime for politicians elsewhere. Even Swinton took a day off here and there. We've more than proved our personal dedication, and they know we have the city in mind and can always be reached for serious matters."

Dawn thought about it for a while, looking off into space. "I never really considered it. I thought about working as much as possible, just taking Frededas and Sundas to lounge at home, not really go anywhere. Where were you thinking, a little casino trip to Sahara Square?"

"That's a thought. Tiziri and her husband invited us over for a visit..." Leodore mused. "No, I had something else in mind. I thought we could have something more significant. I want it to be a surprise, but I promise you'll love it."

"Well... being mysterious, hmm? I'm very curious," Dawn said with a grin. "I love you're keeping the intrigue in the marriage. We need to keep it good and strong."

"I promise you, I'll do everything I can to make sure you never get bored," Leodore rumbled.

"That's another Lionheart promise I think I can count on," Dawn chuckled, resting her head against her husband's side and looking at the ceiling. Life, even with her father out of power, was still complicated. She could use a break. She deserved happiness and peace. At least a little bit, for just a few days, in whatever mysterious place Leodore had in mind.